


Speaking In Tongues

by Eustacia Vye (eustaciavye)



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-02
Updated: 2011-08-02
Packaged: 2017-10-22 02:51:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/232940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eustaciavye/pseuds/Eustacia%20Vye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ariadne was a tangle of contradictions, but one thing held true throughout all of his research: she never took the easy way out. Arthur wanted to impress her, and he knew it couldn't be work related. She was fluent in Scots Gaelic, so that seemed to be a good place to start.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Speaking In Tongues

**Author's Note:**

> Too many notes for the summary box!
> 
> For the kink meme prompt: [During Arthur's research he discovers Ariadne is fluent in a kind of obscure language. He uses this to his benefit later in their relationship by only learning dirty phrases in said language and calmly saying them to her at random points during their work day.](http://community.livejournal.com/inception_kink/17669.html?thread=36509957#t36509957) I picked a language that is pretty difficult to find native speakers of. I hope I didn't mangle the phrases badly in this!
> 
> Also for the "unrequited pining" box on my [hc_bingo](http://community.livejournal.com/hc_bingo/) card.

Arthur was glad that Ariadne chose to stay in dream share after the Fischer job. It was a mess, but she seemed to thrive on challenges and the high stress potential in the work. He supposed it was partly what had drawn her to architecture in the first place. It was a demanding field to learn, and difficult to truly make a name in. He had done his research on her when she returned to the warehouse after being scared off. Ariadne was a tangle of contradictions, but one thing held true throughout all of his research: she never took the easy way out. For a foreign language in college, she actually took Scots Gaelic, a language that was becoming more and more rare by the year.

Though he knew enough of several languages to navigate cities and start researching subjects, he didn't consider himself a linguist by any means. Doing searches for Scots Gaelic online yielded a lot of phrases and old texts from the 1800's, though he didn't know how to piece together words or phrases that would possibly impress her. Arthur didn't stop to think about _why_ he wanted to impress her that way, when there had to be easier avenues. He knew it couldn't be work related; she appreciated his skill and was grateful when his military training helped save the team's lives. That didn't give her a sense that he wanted to get to know her better on an individual basis, and it would have to be more spectacular than stealing a kiss in the middle of a job.

He picked out a phrase from one of the online sites and hoped he didn't royally screw it up. When the extractor was going through the files that Arthur had collected, he passed by Ariadne's desk. "That should be a really good maze," he commented as he looked at her sketches over her shoulder.

She looked up with a smile. "Thanks. Want me to show you what I have in mind?" she offered, nodding toward the PASIV. "I'm still working on the final layout, but you can tell me what you think."

"Sounds good. Let me set it up."

The maze was intricate already, though Arthur could see what Ariadne meant by it being unfinished. The buildings had a repetitive feel to them, as if Arthur could find the way through the maze if he focused on the patterns hard enough. There were a lot of blind alleys and paradoxical switch backs already in place, so it was really just a matter of tweaking the appearance of the city. He smiled at her encouragingly. "I like the overall feel to this." He pointed at the areas that didn't work, and they discussed what might work until the timer ran out.

Arthur took care of the lines and the PASIV as he usually did. Just as Ariadne got up from her chair, Arthur took a breath and tried the phrase he had memorized. "Bha e ’na thoileachadh domh fhein."

Ariadne blinked at him in surprise, making a sputtering noise as he left.

She made him feel the same way sometimes, so really, it was only fair.

***

"I could have sworn that you said something yesterday..."

Arthur looked up from his notebook, taking care to hide his smirk. "I said a lot of things yesterday. To what are you referring to?"

Ariadne gave him a shrewd look. "Dè thuirt thu?" she asked.

Managing not to flinch at what must have been awful pronunciation the day before, Arthur shrugged. "Gesundheit?" he offered. As frustrating as it was for her, he wasn't ready to let go of this game yet. He at least had her interest now.

The day dragged on slowly, but Arthur could wait. He was a patient man. Trying to get his mouth around the unfamiliar syllables had to be proof of that much. As Ariadne was heading out for lunch, Arthur looked up from his files. "Oh? Ariadne?"

"I remember. You like coffee black," she said with a smile. She had gotten into the habit of getting him a little pick me up for the afternoons, and he savored the coffee that much more as a result.

Arthur grinned his thanks. "Oh!" he called just as she opened the door. "Bha e brèagha an-de."

She frowned at him, but decided to leave for lunch as planned. Arthur didn't doubt that he was in for it by the time she returned from lunch. He would have to plan his attack carefully.

He pulled a separate Moleskine from his satchel and consulted the notes he had already put together for that.

***

Ariadne plunked the coffee down on his desk and eyed him warily. "Dè tha thu a dèanamh?" she asked, not sure what he was going to say in reply to that. "Can a-rithist sin?"

Arthur frowned at her. "What's that?" he asked. He knew full well what language it was, but he had no idea what she just said. He had ordered a book and audio CD to teach himself the language, but nothing had arrived yet.

"You know, it sounded like you were trying to speak Gaelic before."

Ouch. Well, he was trying his best through phonetic spellings and audio clips. He shrugged at her. "I don't know the language," he told her honestly. "Sorry about that."

Ariadne obviously didn't buy that explanation. "You're plotting something."

Arthur had his best blank look on his face. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Ariadne. Are you feeling okay? Am I putting too much pressure on you for the level? There's time before we have to move on this job. It's okay if you need a day off."

Attacking her professionalism was an underhanded tactic, but it worked. Outraged, Ariadne glared at him. "I'll have you know this is the least stressful possible job I could have possibly taken, Arthur. You're plotting something." She paused. "It's not dangerous, is it?"

"What is?" he asked, still feigning innocence.

She made a face at him and then left for her own work space. Arthur was tempted to call out something after her, but that might be pushing his luck. Instead, he went to his laptop and looked up the tracking information for the book and CD he had ordered. Ariadne looked back at him a few times during the day, a thoughtful look on her face. She might not know what his game plan was, but it was working to pique her interest.

***

The phrasebook was simplistic and didn't include any really raunchy phrases. Arthur sighed a little. Of course it wouldn't be that easy. He would probably have to actually try to learn the language and piece together a few phrases and hope they actually said what he wanted them to mean. Beginner courses generally didn't include a lot of wacky idioms, and it wasn't as if there were guides to dirty terms and phrases the way there was for other more common languages. Did Ariadne really have to learn something quite so idiosyncratic?

Arthur stayed later in the office than even Ariadne and put in headphones to listen to the CD to work on his pronunciation. He thought he heard a noise over the sound of the CD, but he was in the middle of "Bu toigh leam bracaist a ghabhail." and couldn't quite get his mouth around the syllables. He put the CD on pause and looked around behind him, but the office still appeared empty. Wishful thinking to stop practice, then. He skipped backward and started the section of the CD over again, book in front of him.

He didn't notice Ariadne sneaking out of the office after retrieving her sweater, a fond smile on her face as she listened to him practice.

***

A little pleased with his progress, Arthur deposited a cup of coffee at Ariadne's desk. Their extractor would be coming by in the afternoon for the walkthrough on the level and the overall plann of action for the job. They were ready to put everything into action that weekend, and the familiar anticipation of an upcoming job was a welcome feeling for Arthur. She thanked him with a smile, and it seemed a little wider than usual. Pressing his luck, Arthur leaned in and said "'Do tha toirt aoibhneas duit?"

Ariadne grinned at him, and Arthur wondered if he had made a mistake. "Tha sin glè mhath!" she said, pleased with him. The syllables rolled by a little faster than he could keep up with, but he thought he understood the gist of it.

"Tapadh leat," he said, a little unsettled at the actual process of conversing in Scots Gaelic.

"'Se do bheatha," Ariadne replied, that grin still on her face. She seemed to understand that anything more was taxing his limited command of the language, and she switched back to English. "So why Gaelic?" she asked, curious.

Arthur thought about lying. He had planned for the eventuality of her finding out he was learning the language, but he forgot the excuses he had crafted. Instead, he gave her an easy shrug and sat down beside her. "You know that language, and it's difficult to learn. I wanted to give it a try." He paused and took in the smile she was giving him, the way she was leaning in close to him. "I might be trying to impress you," he admitted. "Is it working?"

She laughed, a delighted and lighthearted sound. "Depends on why you're trying," she replied, eyes twinkling.

"An tig thu a choimhead orm?" he asked impulsively. He thought he had the pronunciation right, but it was hard to tell. "An dig thu a chéilidh orm a-nochd?"

"Bidh fiughar agam ri sin," she murmured, a soft smile on her face. Though Arthur had no idea what she said, the smile seemed to be answer enough for him.

This also would give him plenty of time to be sure he had a few more phrases memorized when she came over.

***

"You're definitely trying to impress me," Ariadne murmured when she visited Arthur's hotel suite that evening after their dinner. It had an understated kind of elegance, and overlooked the city. The view was marvelous, though Arthur hadn't thought of that when he rented the suite. He considered the security and the space for his belongings more than the view, though now he was glad that it was a good one. He moved around from place to place, depending on the job he was working on. She still had her apartment in Paris, and Arthur knew that she enjoyed staying in the city between jobs. It was her home now, the place she felt most comfortable. Arthur was still trying to figure out if there was one place in the world for him that felt like home, though he found himself circling Paris more and more often.

He hoped she would think it was cute and not pathetic once she found out about that.

"That depends," Arthur told her, smiling wide enough for his eyes to crinkle in the corners. "Is it working?"

Ariadne answered his smile. "Maybe..."

"I've been working on a few phrases. Can you tell me if I've got them right?"

She nodded, smiling at him. She probably thought he was foolish for trying so hard, but it had gotten her notice. Pushing aside nerves, Arthur began to recite the words he had painstakingly tried to memorize earlier that evening. "Bhithinn sona leatsa, ghràidh, is mo làmh bhith thairis ort." He searched his memory for the next lines, but could only remember the end of the poem. "'S mi tarraing, ghràidh, ri m' thaobh thu. 'S a ghaoil, cha bhiodh ort aithreachas."

Ariadne's smile was soft and fond. "Tearlach MacNimhein," she said, using the Gaelic pronunciation. Hers was so much better than his, but she was the one that had studied it for years. "You've been going through so much trouble to learn this for me. Why?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Arthur asked her, searching her expression for some clue that he was pushing things too far. None seemed to be forthcoming. "You only seemed to notice me for work purposes, but never anything more than that. I wanted more." He clasped her hand in his tightly. He searched his memory for a phrase that might fit, something to prove how sincere he felt about this. "Ni sam bith a th’agam is leat."

She seemed to melt a little at the words. It had to be a good sign, especially since her hand tightened around his. "You could have just said something, Arthur. You don't have to dance around the subject."

That gave him an idea. "Am bu toigh leat dannsa?" Arthur asked, extending his arm slightly.

She quirked an eyebrow at him. "There's no music," she pointed out, not bothering with Gaelic. She seemed to understand that it was a phrase he'd learned by rote, and there was so much of the language that he didn't understand.

"So?" he asked, just a touch of challenge in his voice. "I'm sure we could make it work."

Amused, Ariadne took his arm and let him pull her close. He started with a slow waltz, waiting for her to soften in his arms before murmuring "Cha’n’eil ni nach deanainn duit."

"Arthur..."

"An toir thu dhomh pòg?" he asked, keeping a straight face.

Her lips quirked, and it was too similar to the smile she had on her face after their kiss on the Fischer job. "Cha’n urrainn domh t’ àicheadh," she replied in soft tones.

This kiss was nothing like the chaste and quick kiss from the dream, however. She responded to his touch enthusiastically. They stopped swaying in a waltz, and Ariadne had one hand at the back of his neck to pull him in closer. Arthur wrapped his arms around her and deepened the kiss. Now it was what he had wanted even as far back as the Fischer job, though he hadn't wanted to push things too far then. Now it didn't seem far enough.

Arthur kept himself from sweeping her up into his arms. When the kiss ended, he smiled at her wide enough for the boyish dimples in his cheeks to show. There was a low, pleased flush in her cheeks, and he couldn't help but think this had been too long in coming. "Tha gaol agam ort," he murmured.

Ariadne's answering smile lit up her entire face. "Tha gaol agam ort-fhèin."

It was everything he had hoped he would hear from her, and it sounded wonderful.

The End


End file.
